When you live with crabs...

They say
when couples live together for many many years
They come to resemble one another;
It might be just their gestures,
But it’s as if -- with time --
The angles of the face reshape themselves
And nose and chin square up,
or shrink, or round in subtle concert,
gracenotes echoing
in an aging hall.
And we all have seen
The folks who seem to look
Just like their dogs.

Could it be that the seaweed,
Having spent its fat green life
In company with crabs
Has come to mimic
The sharp
Two-pointed grasp
Of their blood-red claws?


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